Korea

Country starter pack
Visiting Korea
85
Korea Tourism Organisation. You can buy the EG card
online and have it either delivered to your Australian
address (fees apply) or pick it up at Incheon International
Airport, Gimhae International Airport or Seoul Station.
Be aware there may be queues at these locations. Go to
www.egsimcard.co.kr/ for further information. Simcard
Korea also sells prepaid SIMS. Go to www.simcardkorea.
com/src/main/main.php?lan=E.
If your Australian phone is “locked” to an Australian
network (meaning you can’t use a Korean SIM), an
alternative option is to buy a pre-paid international call
and data pass from your Australian phone service provider
before you leave for Korea. These pre-paid passes include
fixed allowances of calls and data at far more reasonable
rates than if you just connect to a Korean phone network
on your arrival. The main Australian telcos including
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone sell pre-paid international
passes for their customers. Note that older (non-3G and
non-4G) phones bought outside Korea generally do not
work in Korea at all.
Another phone option in Korea is to rent one when you
arrive. This can be quite expensive and generally requires
you to have an alien registration card. Therefore it may
not be viable if you’re just visiting for business.
6.4 GROUND TRANSPORT
Taxis can be found at designated taxi ranks in most busy
city areas or hailed on the streets. Some taxis can also be
ordered by phone for a slightly higher fare. While most
taxis in the Seoul area accept credit cards or even prepaid
public transportation cards, you may need to pay in
cash in small provincial cities and regional areas. The best
plan is to always have some cash (KRW) if you are going
to use taxis outside the big cities.
There are several different types of taxis in Korea, and a
large variety in Seoul. Standard taxis are generally silver
or white in colour, but many in Seoul are orange (don’t
get them confused with international taxis – see below).
In Seoul, taxi rates are KRW 3,000 for the first two
kilometres and then KRW 100 for every 142 metres or
KRW 199 for every 35 seconds afterwards. A 20 per cent
surcharge is payable between midnight and 4am. Outside
the downtown area, most taxis are of the standard variety
and there are rarely any deluxe or jumbo taxis. Deluxe taxis
(mobeom taxi) are black with a yellow stripe and cost KRW
5,000 for the first three kilometres and then KRW 200
for every 205 metres or 50 seconds. They don’t have a
late-night surcharge. Jumbo taxis are eight-passenger
vans available for larger groups. They are equipped with
a receipt-issuing device and a credit card reader. Fares
are the same as deluxe taxis, but note that all taxi rates
may differ from province to province. Drivers have limited
English, but some taxis (including jumbo taxis) have a free
interpretation service (dial 080-840-0505, speak on
the phone in English to an interpreter, then the interpreter
talks to the taxi driver in Korean). Writing the destination
down can help as most Koreans are better at understanding
written rather than spoken English. All taxis have meters
and many accept credit cards.